Death-row inmate argues juror discrimination tainted his kidnapping-torture conviction
William O. Dickerson, a death-row prisoner, told the Fourth Circuit that prosecutors deliberately excluded Black jurors, claiming the jury selection process was biased.
In a hearing before the Fourth Circuit, death-row inmate William O. Dickerson argued that his 2009 conviction for kidnapping and torturing Gerald Roper was compromised by racial discrimination in jury selection. His attorneys presented evidence that Charleston County Solicitor Scarlett Wilson excluded Black jurors at a rate far higher than white jurors, a pattern documented across twenty of her trials. Despite this, a post-conviction relief judge refused to consider a Batson challenge, saying the issue should have been raised on direct appeal.
The South Carolina Supreme Court also denied Dickerson’s appeal. Federal judges Sherri Lydon and Toby Heytens similarly barred the claim on procedural grounds, though Heytens called the decision “obviously wrong.” The defense maintains that the discriminatory evidence only became available through extensive post-conviction discovery, which the courts have now ignored.
Why it matters
The case highlights how alleged racial bias in jury selection can impact death-penalty convictions and appellate review.
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